What a Tangled Web Winchesters Weave
by Giacinta2
Summary: Sam calls, Dean doesn't pick up. It's all downhill from there. Tag to 11.09. Chapter two:- Dean calls, Sam doesn't pick up. My own personal, completely AU, take on what could happen. Warning for much Dean cursing. gen.
1. Chapter 1

Sam  
...

Sam stared down at the blue-hued screen of his phone. Dean wasn't picking up.

He quashed the mote of panic that gripped him.  
Once he'd have been more laid-back about his big brother failing to answer his call, but the culmination of occasions he'd almost lost his brother had made him hyper-tense, continually scared that the next time might be the last- and it would if the reaper Billie's ominous warning was to be taken seriously!

:

The threat she'd uttered had been deliberately pushed to the back of Sam's mind, not that he'd forgotten, no- the very opposite-he purposely didn't want to dwell on the words- didn't want to share with his brother the news of the promised destiny she and those who now went about their duties in the absence of Death had decided was going to be thrust on the two Winchesters.

But her words had left their sign, even if Sam chose to ignore them.  
The idea that if Dean died and ended up in the 'empty', Sam himself wouldn't be able to conjure up anything to get him back, was terrifying to the younger man.  
His big brother would be banished there, living out his worst fears, that of being alone and abandoned by the last of his family.

:

No, Sam mused, he was going to think positive. There could be a thousand reasons why Dean wasn't answering his phone.  
His brother could be talking to witnesses, have forgotten the phone in the Impala or simply be taking a piss, so when Rowena nagged him about being ready to perform the spell and that they should get a move on, Sam made a pondered decision.

There were so many things that could go wrong with his whacky idea of contacting Lucifer and if the Winchester luck was anything to go by, the odds were high that it would. So if something bad DID happen, Sam wanted his big brother to be as far away as possible.

Sure he'd promised Dean to wait but it wasn't just Dean's job to look out for Sam, it was his job to look out for Dean too, whether his big brother wanted it or not.

:

When he stood there all alone without his brother at his side, face to face with the being who had tortured him in the most gruesome and painful ways for over a century, Sam's courage deserted him.  
Though his face kept its composure, inside he was trembling, he wanted his brother, he wanted Dean.

"No, I won't be your vessel, " Sam said turning away from the leering face, from Lucifer who was asking the impossible of him.  
NO, he'd never give himself over to the loathsome being who'd used him in every perverted way imaginable. He'd made this sacrifice once already, there wouldn't be a second time, not even to save the world.

When the fires around the holding cage banked down and Sam found himself inside, face to face with Lucifer, heard him demurely dismantle his hopes of it being God who'd sent him the visions, Sam couldn't stop the hot tears of despair tumbling from his eyes, trickling down his cheeks.  
He'd been so wrong, so fucking wrong and Dean had been so fucking right.

:

:

Dean

Dean's finger hovered over the blue-hued screen, ready to take Sam's call, when he sensed Amara's presence.

The overwhelming attraction she waived made him hesitate, dragging his attention away from the phone.  
Turning, he spotted her and decided to ignore the call for now. It was important to find out what she was up to. He'd get back to Sam as soon as he could.

:

Even as he drifted towards her, Dean was still at a loss to understand why she had this hold over him.  
Sure, he'd carried the Mark, but why that should 'bind' them together was a mystery to him. Did it mean if Cain had been the one to set her free, he'd have been bound to her?  
Dean was out of answers, he didn't even have the questions as it was actually Sam who'd freed her by insisting Rowena cast that fucking spell. He'd been a mere spectator.

:

Her hold over him wasn't as strong as it had been though.  
Ever since her younger version had raised a hand to Sam, Dean had felt her thrall weakening. He was SO over people laying hands on his little brother. There was no way he was going to allow Amara to have a go at Sammy too.

Just the same, to pull out his knife and stab her had taken all of his will-power, and a fat lot of good it had done.  
She had to have been wearing pre-biblical kevlar armour, 'cos the knife disintegrated against her belly like ice against the sun.

But it wasn't until she revealed her idea for the future of her brother's Creation that Dean understood the true danger of this being clothed in the body of a beautiful woman.  
She wanted 'Bliss' for everyone. A very dangerous concept in Dean's book, no different to the dreams of many a wannabe world-dominator.

:

He'd heard it all before. Control, power, whether it be preached by demons or angels, the end-game was always the same, to turn the Earth into a planet of mindless slaves.  
Oh, she WAS dangerous, equal to God in all ways, at least according to her. But she would fall under the Winchesters' boots as so many had before.

When she tried to eat his soul without success, Dean didn't know whether to be satisfied or fucking scared.  
She'd drawn the souls out of humans and demons alike, why not his?  
He almost smiled at the sappy chick-flick answer that came to mind. Perhaps his soul was already so tangled up with Sam's that it was impossible to take it on its own.

:

Back in the park where she dumped him, he quickly called his brother. This time it was Sam who didn't pick up.

The end


	2. Chapter 2

Back in the park where she dumped him, Dean quickly called his brother. This time it was Sam who didn't pick up.  
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"No," Dean rectified staring at the screen, a stream of curses supplementing the two-letter word. "There's no way Sam's gonna pick up because - there's- no- fucking-signal! Damn the crazy little shit. What's he gone and done now!"

"He promised he'd wait, " Dean added running towards the Impala. "When I get my hands on him, he'll be chow meat."

The car's tyres screeched with the force of Dean's take off from the side-walk. The elder Winchester loved the Impala but when it came to her or Sammy, there was no contest. "Sorry baby," he cooed. "I'll make it up to you after I get my hands on my freaking, stubborn, promise-breaking, moron of a little brother."

He feverishly scanned his options.  
Sam's phone not having a signal could be caused by a variety of reasons...  
Could be his sibling was in a dead zone that wasn't covered, but in any case it still meant Sam wasn't in the bunker waiting for his big brother, which was where he SHOULD have been, Dean seethed, hissing through clenched teeth.

He wanted to fuel his anger because it was so much more comforting than the panic which was gripping him at the thought of Sam at the mercy of Rowena's powerful magic, and if the spell worked, at a tête-à-tête with Lucifer.

Dean knew how much Sam had been affected by his time in the Cage, the hallucinations had almost killed him, so there was no doubt in the elder Winchester's mind that Sam was terrified at the idea of finding himself once more in Lucifer's presence.

:  
"That's why you were supposed to wait for me, doofus, " Dean snorted, his foot pressing hard down on the gas.

Like a whirlwind, he stormed through the bunker's door only to have his fears confirmed by the empty echo of his voice as he vainly called out his brother's name.

:

Thanking his lucky stars that he'd held on to Crowley's number, he quickly dialled it only to find that like Sam's, there was no signal.  
"Nothing beats the hands-on approach," Dean muttered, quickly gathering the ingredients for a summoning.

:

"Where is he?" he growled when Crowley's compact figure appeared in the circle.

"Dean, nice of you to call... " Crowley ventured but Dean was in no mood to play side-kick to the demon.  
"I-said- where-is-Sam?" he repeated, emphasising each syllable.

"About that, " Crowley replied searching for the right words. "There's been a slight 'hitch' in what was a well-oiled plan."

"Take me to my brother—now, " Dean ordered, an angel sword held loosely at his side. "That is if you don't want to join all the other demons who've disintegrated into nothingness with a hilt flush to the stomach."

Crowley swallowed.  
He was in a seriously inferior position at the moment and even if Dean was no longer a demon, the elder Winchester was a still a very, very dangerous being.

Holding up two conciliating hands, Crowley hummed. "Uh, Sam's in hell. The safest place to have a friendly chat with Lucifer."

:

A flood of memories washed over Dean. He'd never been back to hell and he certainly didn't feel the need to visit, but if that's where his baby brother was then that's where Dean was going.

One positive was that Alastair wasn't around any more.  
He shivered at the horrendous tortures the vicious demon had subjected him to. He'd sighed in relief when Sam had killed him tho' he couldn't be happy about Sam having been hyped up on demon blood at the time.  
Whatever, that was in the past, Sam needed him now.

:

"Don't try any tricks, Crowley or I'll turn you into a pin-cushion. We clear?" Dean asked, rubbing a foot over the line of the devil's trap.  
"Dean... we've been best buds, it hurts how little you trust me," Crowley scoffed.

"Sam better be okay, or you and that skanky mother of yours are dead and buried," Dean threatened before the bunker disappeared and Hell's dark walls took its place.

"Move."  
"Come on Dean. We're all in this together. You're in my territory now and if I wanted you dead, you'd already have a reaper at your shoulder."

"We'd go out together then," Dean jeered, wiggling the sword.

:  
Crowley sighed and moved forward until man and demon entered the chamber where a make-shift cage had been set up. Two figures were visible inside its dark surroundings.

"Sam, " Dean yelled, running towards his brother.  
Sam turned at the familiar voice, his face breaking into a smile. "Dean". He came to the edge of the cage, hands gripping the bars.

Dean experienced the same liberating joy he'd felt when he'd found his baby brother in the Bender's barn; only they had been simple humans, the shadow at Sam's back was just a 'touch' more dangerous!

"Sammy. You okay? "  
"Yeah, for the moment," was the cryptic answer.

Now that Dean had Sam whole and unharmed in his sights, he let loose. "What the fuck were you thinking coming here on your own. You were supposed to wait, bitch."

"I..uh..." Sam flushed. If he ever got out of this iron box alive, he'd let Dean heap all the wank he wanted on him.

:

"Why Dean, where are your manners? Don't you say hi to old friends?" the mellifluous voice of the devil purred.  
He came up behind Sam, and Dean could see the scared expression on his sibling's face at Lucifer's proximity.

"Get away from Sam, " Dean growled. "I don't know how he got in there but you'd be wise to let him out."

"Tch, tch. Well now, instead of taking it out on poor little me, you should be turning your attentions to a red-headed witch. Afraid her warding was rather... how can I say... incomplete?"

"I wouldn't worry, I'll deal with her in good time, " Dean sneered. "Right now I want Sam on this side of those bars."

"Sorry Dean, but it was Sammy who came asking for my help and I'm SO willing to give it."  
"Yeah, I bet! In exchange for what ?" Dean huffed.

"Well just before you barged in, Sam and I were coming to a gentleman's agreement..."

:  
"No, we weren't " Sam butted in, backing as far away as possible from Lucifer. "I haven't agreed to anything and I'm not going to."  
"Not even to save the itty bitty world, " Lucifer taunted moving towards him again.

"Stay away from my brother, " Dean yelled, circling the cage, following them.

Lucifer turned, staring into Dean's eyes.

"Sorry Dean, but I have the winning hand. Sam can't get out of here unless I let him and I won't if I don't get what I want."

Dean gritted his teeth. "And that is?"

"Oh, nothing much. You see I'm kinda limited here, I need a vessel to come top-side and if I don't come top-side, then I'm afraid I can't be of help to you in your little crusade to stick the darkness back where it came from. Sorry. " Lucifer pursed his lips in a mock-apologetic curl.

Dean's face paled. "No fucking way! Tell him Sammy. There's no fucking way he's gonna make you his vessel again."

He caught his little brother's eyes. They were wide with fear yet Dean could almost feel the self-sacrificing vibes that emanated from him. The moron was actually considering it.

"Sam...?"

" Maybe if we take precautions..."

"Precautions!" Dean let out a huff. "Seriously. What 'precautions' could we ever take to contain Lucifer. Once he's inside you Sam, you're never going to get rid of him."  
"It's all my fault, Dean. I let the darkness loose. If I have to die to fix it..."

:

Just then Rowena's high pitched voice echoed through the chamber. Her limbs were shackled and she was surrounded by demon guards.  
"Get those wards back up mother, " Crowley shouted. "Or I swear I'll let my favourite hell-hounds tear you to shreds."

"Oh, Fergus. You are SUCH a disappointment, child. You don't understand how things work. I was just teasing. I was sure Lucifer and Sam would have enjoyed a little meeting face to face to clarify their past differences."

"Shut your mouth and get the wards back up. If Sam agrees to let Lucifer use him as a human condom that means trouble for me too. So get him out of there, " Crowley bitched.

:  
If looks could kill, the glare Rowena reserved for her son would certainly have done so, but nonetheless she uttered some undecipherable words and the wards began to pulse red again while the fire resumed its crackling around the contours of the cage.

:

When Sam appeared next to his brother, Dean grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug.

" You do something fucking stupid like that again and I swear I'll chain you up in the bunker's dungeon and throw away the key."

:

"Don't thank me, " Rowena sniffed as she watched the brothers embrace. "I could have left dear Sammy in that attractive devil's company for a lot longer."

Dean lifted his head and nailed her with a gelid stare. "Your time will come witch, word of Dean Winchester. Crowley get us the hell out of here. Now!"

:

"Don't you want my help then? "Lucifer asked sweetly. "What about saving the world?"  
"We'll do it without your help, fucker, " Dean managed to retaliate before he and Sam found themselves above ground.

The end.


End file.
